Is This Another 'Tick' In The Checklist? .....I Guess Not...

Finding this dragonfly was an unexpected surprise.  It was quite by chance and was really a lucky strike.

This dragonfly may have perched there undisturbed for a while as it was a quiet day due to the rain and there wasn't anyone around.  As such, it would not have been expecting any intrusion to its daydreaming.  When I walked by and surprised it, it took off so suddenly only to hit a wall, drop to the floor then take off again to land on another wall.

I was quite as surprised to see a small, dark insect shoot off from nowhere, crash, bounce, drop, then zap off, all in a matter of split seconds.  You only get that in the cartoons!  And I can just imagine the whole scene again with all the sound effects!

Anyway, when I realised it was a dragonfly, I scrambled for my camera and got two shots before it flew off into the blue and disappeared.

Although not the best photo, it is probably sufficient to enable identification.

 

 

This dragonfly could be the Chalybeothemis fluviatilis of the family Libellulidae.  The Pocket Guide describes it as follows: a small, dark dragonfly with unmarked body, brownish basal patch on its hindwing, hindwing length of 21 mm, and is uncommon in Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.

I still have some doubts with its identification and have thought that I could be wrong and it is the Diplacodes trivialis.  Having made comparisons, this dragonfly has a very thin, almost straight and unmarked abdomen.  And yet... I do think it could be correct except that its appendages are light coloured.

This urbanised area is not its habitat though.  Perhaps this dragonfly had gotten confused and lost in this urban jungle?

I am a bit confused too.

 

UPDATE:  As confirmed by our odonatologist of Malaysia, Dragonflyman, it is the Diplacodes trivialis after all in the above photo, one that's aged, which explains the dark colouring. 

See further identification/comparison features in his comments.